


On a cold winters night that was so deep

by KiriJones



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: ", Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Study, Christmas Eve, For what was and what is and what could have been, Gen, post The Avengers, steve Rogers is in mourning
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 21:28:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,143
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333742
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KiriJones/pseuds/KiriJones
Summary: Months after defeating the Chitauri and drifting across the US Stever Rogers finds himself back in New York City on Christmas Eve. Alone and lost he is struggling to accept the reality of his situation. In a small dingy bar is Hell's Kitchen he stumbles upon someone who may be just as broken as he is.Ava Grady has spent most of her life running from something or other. But one night she sees a man with blue eyes even more haunted than her own. Out of the Christmas Spirirt she is not sure she possess much of anymore she buys him a drink.Twenty-four hours are all they will have. It could be all they need to maybe, just maybe, find some semblance of peace.





	On a cold winters night that was so deep

_Some times in life there are times that will define you for the rest of your life. Where a choice can either make or break you. Where you are at the right time with the right person in the right place. Where it all falls on kismet and fate and circumstance and happenings. You can find immense happiness and great sorrow and even the bittersweet taste of acceptance._

 

_Nierzche once said that "The end of a melody is not its goal;but nonetheless, had the melody not reached its end it would not have reached its goal either. A parable."_

 

It it begins in a bar. A dingy bar in Hell's Kitchen. It is five o'clock on Christmas Eve. The smell of booze and sweat and smoke permeates the air. It is full of people who skirt along the edges of society. Those who would rather be forgotten or who had no choice in the matter. All carry scar. Some visible clearly and other hidden deep in their souls. This is where Ava Grady has found herself. She sits at the dirty bar looking at the shot of whisky in front of her. How she found herself here in this city on today of all days is something she does not know. 

Pit is snowing outside and the music is playing everywhere she turns and she can't find it in herself to be happy. To believe in the spirit of anything. She just wants to forget and let go. But she can't bring herself to drink the stupid booze in front of her. So she looks for something to distract her. And sure enough she finds it.

across the bar sits a man who looks out of place. He has blonde hair and from what she can see looks like blue eyes. Eyes that even from where she sits look dark and haunted and lonely. Oh so lonely. It seems like the shadows cling to him. His aura  shuns any company. He is huge. Even across the bar and beneath his layers she can see the sheer mass and muscles. The power and authority he exudes. But there are shadows but there is also an earnest authority Ava thinks that would make people follow this man. 

A kindred spirit of sorts it seems. So she is not the only person hiding and running from something. It makes her smile. In this place on all days? Ava does not believe in much. But even she can see something here. So she signals the man over and tells him to give the man their best on her. A good deed to be done in the name of the holiday. Surely she can manage that. She can try to bring something happy to this man. In her bones she can feel that he needs it. 

And maybe it is that act that gives her the courage to take the shot of whiskey and down it quickly. It burns and she can feel the liquid courage running through her veins. She signals for another. One for the road. She will go back to her hotel room and sit on the bed and watch old reruns and when the clock strikes midnight she will sob her eyes out and dry.

but once the shot arrives she makes the mistake of looking up. The blonde man is staring at her. In front of him sits a glass full of a Amber liquid. She thinks it may be scotch. The bartender gestures to her and the man looks at the bartender and then back to her. His eyes seem almost shuttered. Like he is trying to read her intentions. She feels her checks flush and she is tempted to look away. 

But to break the gaze seems almost like a betrayal. Like it will break the magic. So she simply raises her glass and tries to smile. She tries to convey to this kindred spirit she understands. She opens her mouth and says, "To to the lonely!" She is sure he can't hear her. 

She tips back her head and swallows the shot. But if her eyes had been open she would have seen his eyes sharpen and widen. But when she opens her eyes he has hesitantly raised the glass. He tips it and nods. He then downs it quickly. Ava smiles. She then signals the bar tender and grabs cash to pay the man. She hops of the stool. Her bag over her shoulder, toque on her head, and mittens on her hands. She prepares to face the world. 

"To to the lonely huh?" A deep and strong voice sounds behind her. Ava freezes wrapping her scarf around her neck. There is a pause and a moment where she wants to run and never look back. He is breaking the rules. He is supposed to stay on his stool and she is supposed to leave. Maybe it is the whiskey in her veins or the voice in her head the tells her to turn. But turn she does. 

The blonde man stands a foot away. He is tall. Her head hits his chin. His stare is intense. And his eyes haunted but they are lonely like hers. And God help her but in that moment she falls. Down the rabbit hole. Her hearts falls to the bottom of her stomach. And somehow she finds her voice and replies, "Yeah. It's Christmas Eve. It seemed like doing a good deed was a prerequisite. No one should be alone today." It is the truth but she can hear the bitter sadness in her voice. 

His stare gets even more intense but softens. "And yet here we are. Two peas in a pod." 

"I know place not far from here. They make good waffles." She alarms herself and her voice comes out like a squeak. She looks down and blushes again and curses herself for acting like a teenager. So she summons that foreign courage again and meets his stare. "Some company would be nice. It seems like we both could use it." 

Silence fills the air and she knows she has overstepped and made a fool of herself and she wants to melt into the shadows but then he smiles. Not a big smile but a smile all the same. "My schedule is packed but I thinknIncsn squeeze you in." And then Ava returns his smile. She turns and he moves to follow her. She stops suddenly and turns abruptly. "Ava." She offers her mitten clad hand. She will give him no last names. Nothing beyond a meal and an offer of companionship over a good meal. 

"Steve." His large hand engulfs her own and even through her mitten it feels warm and solid. "Follow me." She opens the door and steps out onto the snowy streets. Steve Rogers follows. 


End file.
